Game Recap: Men's Water Polo |
No. 3 USC Men’s Water Polo Makes Semifinal Splash with 18-16 OT Win Over No. 2 Stanford
Carson Kranz scores an OT hat trick to help USC earn a place in tomorrow’s MPSF title match in Westwood.
Stanford was first to score from center, but it was Stefan Brankovic from outside on a Zach Bettino assist that got the Trojans on the board. The Cardinal would convert again from the inside, but the Trojans answered back with Jack Vort converting on a 6-on-5. While Stanford snuck in one more, it was Kranz's first goal of the game and Bernardo Herzer's four blocks that kept the game tied going into the second.
The Brankovic-Bettino connection once again opened scoring and gave USC its first lead of the game. Jack Martin earned a key penalty for Robert López Duart to convert on, but Stanford grabbed another natural goal to close the gap to 5-4. A Stanford 6-on-5 and penalty shifted the lead back to the Cardinal, but another goal from López Duart and Herzer's two steals/additional three blocks brought the Trojans to 6-6 going into the second half.
The Trojans outscored the Cardinal by one in the third with help from new scorers Andrej Grgurevic on the counter and Max Miller on the power play. López Duart would complete his hat trick to inch the Trojans to 10-9 into the fourth, where the Cardinal quickly evened the score on its own 6-on-5. López Duart grabbed another penalty goal that was followed by a Martin lob, but USC's two-goal lead only lasted nine seconds before the Cardinal closed in by one. Kranz hit the back of the net for the second time shortly after, but a Cardinal penalty and natural goal pulled the battling teams into overtime.
In the first overtime period, Kranz quickly set the tone with a converted penalty, steal and goal on the counter – all in less than 30 seconds – to bring the Trojans up to 15-13. From there, the Trojans never trailed. Max Miller added a huge goal off his own steal, and with seventeen seconds left, Kranz hit his career high fifth goal. Stanford attempted a 7-on-6 formation, but on the second possession in this drive, Herzer hit an empty cage with his own goal to seal the lead.
NEXT:
USC turns to take on UCLA in tomorrow's MPSF title match at 3 p.m. in Westwood to fight for an automatic bid into the coming NCAA Tournament. USC has won the last two MPSF Tournament titles.
NOTABLE:
- With five goals today, Carson Kranz set his career high.
- This is the fourth time this season that Robert López Duart has scored four goals in a game.
- Now with 51 goals this season, López Duart is the 26th Trojan all-time to score 50 or more goals in a season.
- With his goals today, Max Miller has now scored in a team-best 23 of USC's 25 games so far this season.
- With his goal today, Andrej Grgurevic leads USC with a least one goal scored in the past seven games.
- With his goal today, Bernardo Herzer becomes the first USC goalie on record to score more than one goal in a season.
- USC is now 4-0 in overtime games this season
#3 USC 18, #2 Stanford 16
Nov. 23, 2024 | Spieker Aquatics Center (Los Angeles, Calif.)
USC 3 - 3 - 4 - 3 — 2 - 3 = 18
STAN 3 - 3 - 3 - 4 — 0 - 3 = 16
SCORING:
USC — Carson Kranz 5, Robert López Duart 4, Stefan Brankovic 2, Jack Martin 2, Max Miller 2, Andrej Grgurevic, Bernardo Herzer, Jack Vort.
STAN — Alex Gheorghe 4, Soren Jensen 4, Dash McFarland 2, Botond Balogh, Chase McFarland, Ryan Ohl, Jackson Painter, Ethan Parrish, Riley Pittman.
SAVES: Bernardo Herzer (USC) 15, West Temkin (STAN) 6.
